Tool & Mastodon - 24/11/06

Wow! This has been a long time coming! I have 2 other posts to come as well! It's been a while, but i've been busy and then ill. Anyway I still have a rotten cold, and i've lost one draft, so here goes....

Mastodon: As seen in previous posts, a band that was difficult to get into, although i decided on genius eventually. What would they be like live? Well, not bad, but had rubbish sound... a fate that quite a few opening acts have to deal with..


However, as I was familiar with their output by now, I thought they were quite good, although I would very much like to see their own show! Oh, and for the benefit of Mr. "Me ? A Bee ?", they did not play "Bladecatcher".


Anyway on to Tool: Firstly Tool do not like smoking or people taking photos of their show, even with camera phones.. (Garry was told off for smoking, I had a torch, repeatedly shone in my face until I gave up trying to take some piccies!) So here are some pics that i half-inched from the murky depths of somewhere on the net...


Tool were, how can we say this, f*/king awesome! Easily the best band seen all year! Everything about the show was excellent, the lights, the lazers, the video screens, the fact that Maynard is one strange individual. I summed it up after the show with the comment "Floyd Metal".


Tool's set list was as expected. Most of the excellent new CD "10,000 Days" plus the cream of their old stuff.


Maynard stood right at the back of the stage all throughout the set, never ever wandering to the front... Quite often he would sing with his back to the audience. A very strange indivdual.


At one point he said "have you heard about boot-laces", whiched seemed very random at the time, but apparently one of Danny Carey's boots flew off whilst he was drumming!


The sound throughout was crystal, it was like listening to their CD's at home, If only Mastodon had the same sound.


The best song? Well that was easily "10,000 Days" a ridiculously overlong and convoluted prog metal marathon - it lasts approximately 18 minutes!


Next gig was the reformed Asia, That review coming soon!